Cleveland Indians 2012 All-Star Chances

It’s that time of year again, baseball fans. It’s the time of year when every trip to Progressive Field comes with two dozen pleas to vote all of your favorite Cleveland Indians to the 2012 All-Star Team.

I always wonder how effective those in stadium ballots actually are. I never know whether I should just vote all Indians, or if I should just vote my conscious. Deep down, I’d love to see as many Indians in the MLB All-Star game as humanly possible, but there are a lot of years that there aren’t any hometown ballplayers that deserve a spot.

What about this season? Are there any Indians that actually deserve to be All-Stars?

Carlos Santana is on the cusp of being a legitimate all-star contender this season. What hurts Santana’s chances more than anything is his .265 AVG and 21% strikeout rate. That batting average is an improvement over the .239 AVG from 2011, but a high strikeout power bat needs to supplement a low average with good pop. The truth is that pop hasn’t happened yet. Four home runs and 15 RBI in 28 games do not an offensive minded all-star catcher make.

Baltimore’s Matt Wieters has three more home runs, three more RBI, 10 less strikeouts, and is hitting .300. If there are any Orioles fans left, Wieters is the easy choice to start the All-Star Game.

Jason Kipnis matches Santana’s batting average while putting up slightly better power numbers, but the competition at second base in the American League is going to keep Dirtbag out of the All-Star Game.

New York’s Robinson Cano is going to get the Yankees fans rapid voting, Texas’ Ian Kinsler sports a better average playing for the best team in the league, and Boston’s Dustin Pedroia is hitting .307 in a behemoth of a media market.

Indians fans love Kipnis for good reason, but he’s just not ready to break into that group.

The American League shortstop spot should come down to Derek Jeter and Asdrubal Cabrera. Jeter is slightly ahead across the board, but in 31 more at bats. Asdrubal has struck out fewer times, but Jeter’s average is a blistering .388.

I can honestly say that I think Asdrubal has played better than Jeter so far this season, but there’s no way Jeter doesn’t dominate the voting. If there’s any justice, Droobie will be the backup shortstop.

The question surrounding Hannahan isn’t whether he’s the been the best third basemen – let’s face it, Evan Longoria is dominating third base – but whether he can outduel Texas’ Adrian Beltre or Kansas City’s Mike Moustakas.

Beltre and Moustakas’ offensive numbers are slightly better, but Hannahan’s defense and relative value to the team’s position in the standings should earn him some extra consideration.

Choo is yet another Indian hitting below .250 with subpar power numbers. He can’t compete with Texas’ Nelson Cruz or even Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki.

Choo is another guy like Brantley for me; I like him a lot, but I don’t really know why right now. He can throw home from the outfield on the fly, though, which is something Damon can’t even say about third base.